Bill Cosby’s Legal Team: Playing Hardball with PTSD Victims

Imagine that you have been drugged and sexually assaulted by a wealthy, famous, respected man. You are young, seeking to advance your career in the field with which he has promised to help you. Who is going to believe you if you tell your story? So you don't tell. You don't go to the police. What are they going to do in a "she said/he said" situation? You hunker down and try to get on with your life.

Yes, you try to get on with your life, but you may re-experience what happened through recurrent dreams or flashbacks. You may have a physical reaction when you are in a situation that reminds you of that event. Or you may try to deny it ever happened. You might avoid people or places that remind you of the assault. You may feel numb, guilty, ashamed, or depressed. Or you may have physical symptoms: trouble concentrating or falling asleep, feeling anxious and tense, having outbursts of anger. You may not be able to complete the normal tasks of your day-to-day life. You may fall into substance abuse, self-harm, or eating disorders. These are all symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

A number of the victims of Bill Cosby's alleged sexual assaults, now numbering more than two dozen, have reported some of these symptoms. We can only imagine that they all have had some degree of difficulty healing from their experience, if in fact they have healed. I actually don't have to imagine it. I know how hard it was for me to heal from childhood sexual assault; it's a life-long task. I understand completely what these women are going through. I know that more victims are getting ready to share their stories, shoring up their courage to face the storm they know will come.

And come it will. Cosby, with unlimited financial resources, is known as a "bulldog" in fighting back. His legal team has a media strategy, as The New York Times put it, that is "a mix of hardball and playing ball, sometimes even with the same news organization." They blame the media and apply pressure "behind the scenes." Most recently, according to the NY Times, Cosby has hired private investigators to dig up dirt to discredit his accusers' character and motives. And considering all the ways in which PTSD can manifest in the life of a victim of sexual assault, in all probability they will find something to use.

Imagine the courage it takes to expose yourself to that kind of hammering in the public arena.

According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest national Network), there is a sexual assault on a woman in the U.S. just about every single minute, adding up to 293,000 per year. And the great majority of them (68%) are not reported to police. What woman wants to be stigmatized by friends, family, or on the evening news? She stays silent, and suffers.

John Lennon, in "Imagine," sings: "You may say I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one..." I dream of a day when victims of sexual assault are believed and helped to heal. I dream of a day when there will be no more victims of sexual assault.

Dream with me.